


In Which Coulson Isn't Paid Enough (But Bucky is Paid Even Less)

by arianapeterson19



Series: Avengers Shorts [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Avengers Movie Night, Baby hulk, Big Brother Thor, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Bucky barnes babysitter, But young avengers are too cute, Cuddling & Snuggling, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pajamas & Sleepwear, Steve is a little shit, Supernanny Phil Coulson, Tiny avengers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-20 23:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4806332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arianapeterson19/pseuds/arianapeterson19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers are turned tiny and while their combined adorableness could be considered a weapon it doesn't actually atop the bad guys.</p><p>Or</p><p>Coulson would have quit ages ago but Pepper scares the daylights out of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Babysitting

They were so incredibly young, four at the most, two at the youngest, and there were six of them. Six of them! And they were tiny. And quite frankly, Fury couldn’t even swear that they were all of the ages two to four, at least one of them was uncomfortably small and one of the others was a bit oversized for a toddler. Also, one was crying. A lot.

 

“Can’t you shut them up?” growled Fury, holding his head in his hands.

 

“You could help, you know,” snapped Coulson, rocking the small version of Clint who was sobbing uncontrollably into his government agent’s suit.

 

“Fine,” groaned Fury. “Listen up, brats. You need to shut up or I’m going to make you shut up, do you understand me?”

 

Bruce was four and vocal about how much he did not like Clint’s crying. Natasha, to everyone’s surprise, was quite taken with Fury, running around him, babbling in Russian excitedly. Thor was coloring on a file that looked rather important. Tony was sitting silently on the couch, watching the proceedings with intelligent eyes. At Fury’s yell, everyone in the room froze, each child blinking until one by one, they began to cry. Everyone, that was, except Tony, who remained silent and dry eyed.

 

“Out,” said Coulson, pointing towards the door. “And send Barnes and Sam in. Now, Fury.”

 

Fury rolled his eye but did not protest being sent away, more excited about not having to deal with five crying children and one unusually silent child.

 

“It’s okay, let’s everyone calm down now,” said Coulson in his calm voice. “Please. Bruce, come on, sit by Tony please. Natasha, Fury didn’t mean it, he’s just under a lot of stress. You can mess with his spare jacket if you want.”

 

“I’m out of town for a few hours and I come back to Fury telling me that the idiots managed to get turned into children?” said Bucky, opening the door and marching in like he was walking onto a yacht.

 

“Bucky!” yelled Steve, his tears instantly drying as he ran to his long time best friend. “I missed you!”

 

“There memory is spotty,” explained Coulson. “They seem to know who we are and that they trust us but they also don’t have all of their memories.”

 

“Get down, punk,” said Bucky, not unkindly, pulling a Steve who had been climbing his leg off and keeping him under one arm like a sack of potatoes. “So what are we going to do about it?”

 

“Fury is currently hiding while Hill works on finding a way to turn them back. I need you to take them back to their floor, lock the door behind you, and watch them while I try to handle the press with Ms. Potts.”

 

“Oh no, you are not putting me on babysitting detail.”

 

“Just take them upstairs,” said Coulson, placing Clint in Bucky’s free arm. “I’ll be up there as soon as I can.”

 

With that, the agent left, and that was how Bucky found himself sitting in the middle of the Avengers floor surrounded by six young Avengers. Clint, once he was on the familiar floor, quit crying and started playing tag with Natasha, who turned out to be a bundle of energy. Steve ran around, dragging Bruce with him, pointing at all of the things in reach and telling the four year old what each of them were. Thor sat in front of the television and watched in rapture. Tony sat next to Bucky on the couch and eyed the rest of them as if he wasn’t quite sure what they wanted with him.

 

“This is a nightmare,” sighed Bucky. “You’re awfully quiet, Tony. What’s up?”

 

“Nuffin,” said Tony softly.

 

“Tony, how old are you?”

 

“Two,” whispered Tony, almost as if he were afraid he was going to get in trouble for that.

 

“Damn,” cursed Bucky.

 

“Sowwy,” said Tony, looking down at his lap.

 

“No, it’s not your fault,” sighed Bucky. “I was just sorta hoping you’d be older. Older you, surprisingly, keeps people balanced.”

 

“Wan Javis,” admitted Tony, curling in further on himself.

 

“JARVIS?” called Bucky, looking up at the ceiling. “Tony needs you.”

 

JARVIS did not respond.

 

“Bucky, I’m hungry!” announced Steve. “Bruce is too.”

 

“Why don’t you let Bruce tell me if he’s hungry or not,” said Bucky. “He’s a big boy, he can speak for himself.”

 

“Tony’s a baby,” said Steve, laughing and point at Tony.

 

“Steve,” said Bucky warningly, glaring at his pint sized best friend.

 

“What, he is!” whined Steve, pointing at Tony who was trying to make himself even smaller on the couch than before. “Look at him! Only babies pee themselves!”

 

Sure enough, when Bucky looked down it was to find that Tony had wet his pants, his tiny lower lip trembling in embarrassment.

 

“Steven Grant Rogers, go to the corner mister,” said Bucky sternly.

 

“But-“

 

“No buts, mister,” said Bucky, placing his metal hand on Steve’s bony shoulder and walking him to the nearest corner. “We do not make fun of our friends, do you understand me? Now you will stand here quietly until I come back and have a chat with you.”

 

Before Steve could protest, Bucky turned his back on the young soldier and went back over to Tony, picking up the tiny toddler easily and shushing him as he walked to the open kitchen wear child care supplies had been deposited by Pepper after it had become apparent that the Avengers were going to stay children for a time.

 

“Hey, you’re fine, buddy,” said Bucky, using one arm to cradle the billionaire to his chest and the other to lay out the changing mat on the ground. “Accidents happen. I should have put you in a diaper before this. This one’s on me. You did nothing wrong. Don’t cry.”

 

Tony sniffled throughout the entire change but didn’t try to squirm away. When Bucky finished and had put Tony in a tiny Iron Man footie pajama complete with hood, he picked Tony back up and made his way back into the living room where the other Avengers had settled down to watch Aladdin on the ground while Steve stood in the corner.

 

“No cawwy,” whispered Tony, his head resting on Bucky’s shoulder despite his protest. “Stawks no get cawwied.”

 

“I’m in charge now, so I make the rules and I say that little boys get carried,” replied Bucky easily, internally railing against Howard and his lack of parenting skills. “Now, I want you to sit with your friends while I have a talk with the punk over there. Okay?”

 

Tony nodded and when Bucky set him on the ground next to Thor, the older boy absently put his arm around Tony and pulled him close. Apparently being an older brother was not something one forgot just because they got de-aged. Tony went willingly enough and Bucky hoped that JARVIS snapped a picture of baby Iron Man cuddling a miniature god.

 

“Steven,” said Bucky, sitting cross legged in front of the boy. “Why are you standing in the corner?”

 

“Because I laughed at Tony,” said Steve, shifting from foot to foot.

 

“And why is that bad?”

 

“Cause Tony is a baby.”

 

“That’s right, Tony is a baby and you are a bully if you pick on someone smaller than you. Are you a bully, Steve?”

 

“No!” said Steve empathetically. “I’m not a bully! I don’t like bullies!”

 

“Then you aren’t going to pick on Tony any more, are you?”

 

“No sir!”

 

“Good boy. Now go apologize to Tony and join the others. I’m going to get you guys some food.”

 

Steve ran off and joined the other tiny Avengers on the ground while Bucky went into the state of the art kitchen. It was stocked with all of the supplies the Avengers could want as well as children’s toys, clothes, and accessories but for the life of him, Bucky could not find mac and cheese. As he searched, he heard a cry from the other room and realized just how difficult this babysitting thing was going to be.


	2. Steve Doesn't Do Naps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages
> 
> Steve 4  
> Thor 4  
> Bruce 3  
> Clint 3  
> Natasha 3  
> Tony 2

Bucky ignored the crying for several minutes, hoping whoever it was – his money was on Clint – would settle down on their own without his intervention, but when the six minute mark passed and the noise was only becoming louder, Bucky finished the final sandwich and walked back into the living room to discover what was wrong.

Natasha had Clint – who was indeed to source of crying – pinned to the ground. She was wearing Fury’s coat and sitting on Clint’s back while looking entirely too pleased with herself. Steve was trying to convince her to get off but either Natasha didn’t speak English or she just didn’t want to move because she merely grinned at Steve. Bruce had scooted closer to the screen in order to hear the movie over all the noise and Thor had gone back to coloring, this time on the wall. Tony was nowhere to be seen.

“Everyone freeze!” yelled Bucky.

Comically, five little heads swiveled to find the assassin.

“Natasha, get off of Clint now,” ordered Bucky in his best stern voice, the one he used to use on Steve before the war. “Bruce, scoot back, you’re going to give yourself a head ache. Thor, the wall is not for coloring. And where the hell is Tony?”

“Tony went sploring,” said Steve. “Down that way!”

Bucky sighed. “Fine, you five, sit right there and do not move. I’m going to go fetch your wayward friend. When I get back we will have a nice lunch and then nap. And no, Steve, the nap is not optional. Get over it.”

Steve pouted, Bucky ignored him, and JARVIS continued the movie at a slightly louder level, once again gaining the attention of the five toddlers, allowing Bucky to set off down the hall to find Tony.

Tony, he discovered, was in the small artillery room, looking at the guns and trying to climb onto the shelf with the knives Natasha and Clint had collected from around the world.

“Tony!” yelled Bucky, causing the two year old to jump, rocking the shelf and sending him and a load of knives tumbling to the ground.

Bucky swore that his heart stopped as the knives and toddler fell, he knew that all of the blood in his body had quit moving because he quit moving, time quit moving, but Tony and those knives kept falling until they all clattered to the ground and Tony screamed, high pitched, terrified, pain filled, the type of scream that could possibly wake the dead if they were in a graveyard. And then time, blood, and Bucky’s heart slammed back into motion, blurring together as if to make up for the precious few seconds it had stalled.

“Shit!” yelled Bucky, scooping the still screaming toddler into his arms. “Tony, are you okay?”

Tony continued to cry his unhelpful wails, not answering with words but actions, holding out his tiny right hand, which was cut deeply and spilling blood across his ivory skin.

“Shit, okay, it’s okay,” said Bucky in a slightly panicked tone. “JARVIS, I need you to get Sam. Or Rhodes. Is Rhodes in town? Tony knows him, maybe he’ll respond better. Also, lock down all weapons and dangerous rooms until further notice.”

JARVIS didn’t respond but Bucky knew the AI was listening. He took the sobbing Tony to the bathroom and sat the two year old on the closed toilet lid. He opened the cupboard under the sink and took out the intense first aid kit normal sized Bruce insisted on keeping in every bathroom (and three hidden in Tony’s workshop).

“Why’s Tony crying?” asked Steve, wandering into the room as if drawn there by the sound of a distressed team mate.

“He cut his hand,” replied Bucky. “I thought I told you to stay in the living room.”

“Here Tony,” said Steve, climbing onto the closed toilet lid and pulling the toddler onto his lap which only worked because Tony was a tiny toddler and it seemed that the serum had stayed with Steve, so he was larger than the average 4 year old. “Bucky’s going to fix your ouch, okay?”

“Can I see your hand, Tony?” asked Bucky, crouching down in front of the two heros, already reaching for the appendage.

Tony offered no resistance when Bucky pulled the bleeding hand away from his chest, just sat there, sniffling as tears ran down his face, watching Bucky intently as the larger man first cleaned, then numbed, and then stitched the cut closed. Once it was securely sealed, Bucky carefully wrapped it up so Tony couldn’t use it and tear the stitches or get it infected. The entire time, Bucky talked softly to the kids, telling Tony what he was doing, how long it would take, what a good boy he was being.

“Alright,” said Bucky, rocking back on his heels. “There we go, you’re all set. Now let’s get you changed into some clothes that don’t have blood on them and then we can eat!”

“Can I help?” asked Steve, setting Tony on the ground before slipping off the toilet lid himself.

“Sure,” said Bucky.

The ex assassin scooped up Tony, even when the two year old protested and took Steve’s hand to walk them back to the kitchen. In the kitchen, he found Sam with all the tiny Avengers, eating peacefully.

“Heard you needed help,” said Sam with a grin.

“Took you long enough,” grumbled Bucky. “Tony needs to be changed.”

“Alright, well you do that and I’ll get the kids to finish their snack before setting them down for a nap,” said Sam with his easy grin. “Man, we are going to have so much blackmail on them. This is going to be great.”

Bucky rolled his eyes but didn’t disagree as he quickly changed Tony out of his soiled clothes and diaper and into a fresh set of pajamas, this time ones with little tug boats. While he worked, Tony slipped the thumb of his left hand into his mouth and sucked.

“No, don’t do that,” said Bucky tiredly, searching the pile of things until her found a pacifier. “Your thumb is all gross; who knows where you’ve put it.”

Nimbly, Bucky tugged Tony’s thumb out of his mouth and set the pacifier in it’s place. Even Bucky had to admit that the wrinkled nose Tony pulled as he adjusted to the taste of the pacifier was adorable. Tony was an attractive man but his baby form surpassed that by a mile at least.

“Okay kid,” said Bucky, once again scooping Tony up. “We’re going to join the others in taking a nap.”

“Bucky,” whined Steve the moment he spotted his friend enter the large yet adapted guest room. “I don’t want a nap. I’m not tired.”

“Natasha and Clint are already settled down,” reported Sam as he finished tucking Thor into a bed.

Sure enough, Natasha and Clint had both snuggled up in one of the many empty cardboard boxes in the room, those left abandoned in the rush to get things set up for the unexpected size change. Bruce was already asleep at the foot of the bed Thor was using. Bucky set Tony into the crib in the corner.

“Go to sleep, Tony,” ordered Bucky.

“Bucky!” whined Steve again, stamping his foot this time to aid in his demand for attention.

“Steve, everyone else is trying to sleep,” said Sam reasonably in a hushed tone. “Now I’m not saying you have to take a nap but I am saying you have to lay down with the others and not disturb them. Understand?”

The little super soldier pouted all the way to an empty box, purposefully ignoring the open bed Sam indicated and plopped himself down, glaring at the ceiling as fiercely as a four year old was able.

Sam shut off the lights and pulled Bucky into the hall with a soft order to JARVIS to monitor the kids for them.

“Did you drug them?” asked Bucky when they were safely back in the kitchen cleaning up the mess from lunch. “You had to have drugged them. There’s no way those kids would have gone down so well without you doing something like that.”

“I didn’t drug them,” laughed Sam as he organized the pile of things that had just been left in the kitchen. “I have nieces and nephews. During the summer they sometimes come over for ‘Camp Uncle Sammy’ so I have lots of practice.”

There was a moment of silence while Bucky thought that over.

“I would have drugged them,” said Bucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was planned to be a 2 chapter thing but.....I'm having fun with the baby Avengers. So there will be a few more. If you want to see anything specific, let me know.


	3. Nap time Ruined

“Tony!” hissed Steve after trying to sleep for a total of seven minutes – seven minutes which felt like seven hours to the four year old. “Tony, wake up!”

Tony blinked drowsily at Steve through the bars of his crib before turning over to his other side and trying to go to sleep. He was tired, his hand hurt, and he just wanted Jarvis; Steve was not Jarvis, not even close. Jarvis would have read him a story and made sure he had a blanket before leaving even though Jarvis was a butler, not his nanny. His nanny wasn’t very good at being a nanny. She was far more interested in going to read his dad a story in the big bedroom than read Tony one.

“Tony!” said Steve, louder this time. “I want to play!”

“Go way,” grumbled Tony, slipping his thumb into his mouth.

“Come on, Tasha and Clint are sleepin and I want to play! We can play Cowboys and Aliens!”

Tony grumbled but turned back over and tried to crawl over the top of the crib. It was much more difficult than he expected and in the end when Steve shoved him away from the rail to try and pull the side down, it sent Tony tumbling back onto his bottom and then crashing down to the floor when Steve succeeded in pulling the entire crib on it’s side. The crash woke Clint and Natasha, who both started crying at the rude awakening, and Bruce who promptly turned into a four foot tall green hulk and began pulling apart the bed. Thor continued sleeping while Sam and Bucky rushing into the room.

“What the hell is going on in here?” yelled Bucky, marching into the room.

Tony had already grabbed a soft blue blanket and crawled into a small cardboard box in the large pile of boxes so he was nowhere in sight when the adults arrived.

“I just wanted to play!” sobbed Steve. “I- I – I was try-trying to get T-t-t-to-tony to play with me and and the crib fe-fell!”

“Where is Tony?” asked Bucky, looking around and realizing the tiny genius was nowhere to be found.

Steve pointed at the boxes while Sam tried to calm the screaming assassins. The hulk continued to smash everything in sight.

“Steve, go to the living room,” sighed Bucky. “I’ll deal with you later. Sam, can you get those two out? Leave Thor, if he’s willing to sleep through this noise then he deserves the sleep. I’ll get Tony and Bruce.”

Sam picked up the assassins and ushered Steve out of the room. When he heard the door shut, Tony stuck his head out of his hiding spot.

“Bwucey,” whispered Tony, crawling out of the box and approaching the small hulk. “Bwucey, stop. No pawing time. Seepy time.”

The little hulk paused and glared at Tony. Tony looked back just as stubbornly, not the least bit frightening though Bucky couldn’t say he was surprised, Tony had never been scared of the hulk, before whispering frantically.

“Bwucey, no mess. Get in twouble fow makin a mess!”

Slowly but surely, the miniature hulk lost his green tint and shrunk back down to just Bruce, who curled up where he was and went to sleep. Luckily children’s sweat pants stretched out Bucky sighed, looked around the mess of a room, and decided he was not going to deal with it that moment. Instead he picked up Tony and walked over to the guest room across the hall. There, he sat down and placed Tony facing him on his lap, firmly hold the toddlers waist to keep him from escaping.

“Tony,” said Bucky as calmly as he could. “I want to get a few things straight. Okay?”

Tony nodded, his thumb slipping into his mouth where he gnawed on it.

“Firstly, you live here and for now I’m the boss, so I make the rules,” said Bucky. “One of my rules is that we don’t get in trouble for making messes on accident. I’ve done that plenty of times and you never – I mean, the person who owns this place has never once complained or made me feel bad about it. He always shrugs and states he was going to upgrade the room anyway and that I just saved him on demolition costs. So if you make a mess and it was an accident, don’t worry.

“Secondly, if Steve ever tries to get you to play during nap time again, ignore him or yelled for Sam or me. Steve is a big boy, he knows better. And thirdly, I don’t mind carrying you, it’s faster than expecting you to walk everywhere because quite frankly kid, you’re tiny. That would take ages. So get over the no carrying thing. Understand?”

Tony nodded.

“Alright, well then,” said Bucky, a little lost at what to do; normal sized Tony never gave in to anything easily, almost as if on principal. Perhaps he was trying to make up for a childhood of easily caving. “Um, let’s go have snack.”

By the time Bucky had reached the kitchen where Sam had once again sat everyone down and placed some crackers and juice in front of them, Tony had fallen asleep on his shoulder. When Bucky tried to put him down, the toddler whined and stirred, threatening to wake up, to the ex-assassin settled down on the couch next to Steve with Tony still sleeping on him.

“This is my life now,” sighed Bucky, resigned.

“I’m sorry, Bucky,” whispered Steve. “I didn’t mean to wake everyone up. I just wanted to play.”

“I know you did, kiddo, but I told you it was naptime. Instead of taking a nap you woke everyone up. Was that a very nice thing to do?”

“No.”

“I think you owe everyone an apology and then you get to help Sam clean up the bedroom. Got it?”

“Yessir.”

Bucky ruffled Steve’s hair fondly and sent the boy to the kitchen for a snack. The others would not be going back to sleep anytime soon; Bucky just hoped there were no major meltdowns from cranky toddlers.

There were.


	4. Melt Downs

“Alright, whose brilliant idea was it to get Nerf guns?” yelled Bucky as the twenty-seventh Nerf dart bounced off his head.

“That would be Ms. Potts,” answered JARVIS, a hint of amusement in his tone. “Shall I inform her that you disapprove of her choice of children’s toys?”

“I’m pissed, not suicidal,” growled Bucky, shooting a scathing glare at the ceiling even though he knew that was not where the AI technically resided. “Whatever. When is Coulson coming back?”

“He should be arriving back at the Tower in three hours.”

“Dammit.”

Natasha ran past Bucky, Nick Fury’s spare coat dragging behind her, squealing in delight as Clint chased her down the hall. Thor had finally stopped coloring in favor of helping Sam, Bruce, and Steve bake cookies in the kitchen. Baking was a loose definition of what was happening because while Sam could cook he lacked in the baking skill set and the children excelled in the mess making skill set, both skills mixing together to create a chaotic kitchen that Bucky refused to step foot in. Tony was content to sit on the floor in the middle of the living room and build with the wooden blocks that Pepper had also bought.

“This is why you’re my favorite, Tony,” said Bucky with a sigh, joining the two year old on the floor. “You stay in one place, you don’t demand a lot of attention, and you can play nicely by yourself.”

“No pwaying. Wowking,” said Tony, not looking up from his growing tower, brow furrowed in concentration. “No ‘posed to pway.”

“You’re not supposed to play, huh?” said Bucky, raising an eyebrow at the kid. “And who told you that?”

“Dada,” replied Tony, reaching for another block. “But Javis pway sometimes. Pway ‘wone wots. But shh! It’s a secwet, don tell Dada!”

“I won’t,” promised Bucky. He wondered, not for the first time, if Howard Stark had ever bothered to pick up a book on parenting, or even ask another parent how it was done, before trying to raise his own kid. It was a wonder Tony had turned out as decently well adjusted as he had – sure he was an arrogant, pain in the ass, but he wasn’t a homicidal maniac so that fell under well adjusted in Bucky’s book.

Tony looked up at him for a moment, studying the super soldiers face as if he was looking for a lie. Then he offered Bucky a block and went back to building. Bucky silently worked on his own tower for several minutes before yet another Nerf dart found its way to him and knocked over his tower, which toppled into Tony’s creation and knocked it over. Clint, Natasha, and Bucky all froze, waiting on the inevitable meltdown from two year old Tony over his tower being destroyed.

Tony blinked at the mess that used to be his creation, over to Bucky’s toppled tower, and then up at the culprits without a word. Then he looked back down at the blocks and silently started packing them back in the bin.

“Tony, you can keep playing,” said Bucky.

“Sorry, Tony!” said Clint, rushing over to the small boy. “It was an accident! I was aiming for Bucky’s blocks and I didn’t see yours.”

“Want us to help you build it back up?” offered Natasha, pushing the imposingly long sleeves out of the way and settling next to the two boys. “I’m a great builder.”

Tony shook his head and continued to put the blocks away in an orderly fashion. No one knew quite how to handle the situation, so Clint simply took two blocks back out of the bin and started stacking them back up in some semblance of structure. Natasha quickly joined him, both rushing to rebuild the fallen tower. Tony glared at them and took the top two blocks off and placed them back in the bin.

“We’re tryin to help!” yelled Clint, snatching a block out of Tony’s hand and putting it roughly on the top of the tower. “Jeez, stupid, you can’t make it bigger if you keep takin blocks away!”

“Aw done,” said Tony, grabbing another block and putting it away. “No mowe.”

“Tony, Clint, Natasha, why don’t we stop with the blocks for a little bit?” suggested Bucky, sensing the impending explosion from one or all of the tired toddlers.

“No!” whined Clint. “I wanna build with Tony!”

“Yes but Tony is all done now.”

“It’s not fair!” screamed Clint before throwing himself onto the ground in a full blown temper tantrum.

“Cwint!” whispered Tony, rising to his knees and reaching out his bandaged hand to the sobbing boy. “Cwint, you gotta stop! Cwint! Pwease, pwease stop. I buiwd! See? Buiwding wight now.”

However the damage was done and once Clint had started crying Natasha joined in with gusto, her high pitched wailed echoing off the walls.

“No!” whimpered Tony, covering his ears and rocking back and forth. “Gotta stop. Gonna get twoubwe.”

That was the moment Agent Phil Coulson decided to return, several hours earlier than predicted and welcomed with open arms by Bucky, who was getting a head ache.

“Make them stop!” demanded Bucky, pointing at the overly tired, screaming three year olds.

“Clint, Natasha,” said Coulson, crouching down. “Come with me.”

Not giving the children an option, Coulson scooped up both wriggling kids and marched them out of the room and down the hall to his personal bedroom, assumedly to put them down for a much needed nap. That left Bucky with the increasingly panicking Tony and the super soldier almost wanted to switch with the agent.

“Alright kiddo,” said Bucky, putting away the blocks for good. “No one is in trouble, just calm down.”

Tony looked up at him with big brown eyes that were so lost it would have broken Bucky’s heart if he still had one of those.

“Javis home now?” asked Tony, plump lower lip trembling.

“No,” said Bucky sadly. “He’s not home yet.”

Tony nodded as tiny tears threatened to spill over his cheeks before he crawled under the armchair in the corner and curled up, thumb in mouth, eyes wide as he waited for his butler who had been dead for decades to return.


	5. Cookies

In the end it was Thor who got Tony to come out from under the armchair. The oversized almost five year old heard that Tony was hiding and instantly went over and dragged him out, hoisting the small boy into his arms and carrying him back to the kitchen.

“We’re making cookies,” announced Thor, setting Tony on a chair to keep an eye on him. “They’re baking right now.”

“Do you want to help decorate them?” asked Sam, wiping down a counter with Steve.

Tony shook his head, thumb slipping into his mouth and looking around for someone- Bucky wasn’t sure who but he was willing to be it was Jarvis.

“It’ll be fun,” said Thor easily. “You’ll like it. You can help me.”

“Don’t you want to decorate your own cookies?” asked Steve, tilting his head to the side as he inspected Thor as if he couldn’t quite understand the other. “You’re a big boy, you can do it all on your own.”

“I know but Tony is little,” shrugged Thor. “Loki likes to help too. And since I’m the big brother it’s my job to show him how. Tony doesn’t have a big brother and right now I don’t have a little brother since Loki is with Momma, so Tony’s mine.”

“I want a little brother!” said Steve. “Sam, can I have a little brother?”

“We can share Tony,” said Thor eagerly. “He needs lots of big brothers since his daddy and mommy aren’t very good at being a daddy and mommy.”

“Thor, why do you say that Tony’s mommy and daddy aren’t very good?” asked Bucky.

“Because Tony’s a baby and he hasn’t cried for his mommy or daddy yet,” reasoned Thor. “Loki’s a baby too and when he’s scared or hurt he always cried for Mamma and Daddy. That’s what babies do. But Tony got hurt and he didn’t cry for his mommy or daddy. He asked for Jarvis. So his mommy and daddy must not be very good if Tony doesn’t ask for them.”

Bucky didn’t say anything to that because there was nothing he could say. Even a toddler could see that Howard and Maria Stark had failed their son from the start. At least everyone else had a shot at a good life at the start. Bucky knew it didn’t stay that way for them but at least they started off strong. There was something so sad about the matter of fact way Thor stated it, his simple reasoning that stated the problem in such an innocent way that it was almost physically painful.

“Bucky?” said Tony, swiveling in his chair to look at the super soldier.

“Yeah?” said Bucky, pushing away from the wall.

“Cookies?”

“Sure, you can decorate the cookies if you want.”

Tony beamed up at him, all baby teeth and crinkled nose.

“Here Tony,” said Thor, pushing Tony’s chair up to the table and climbing up next to him. “These are sprinkles. Which color do you like?”

Tony pointed to the red bowl of sprinkles.

“Those are nice,” said Thor encouragingly. “I like the blue ones best. Loki likes green. Now if we’re going to decorate cookies we’re going to need both hands, so you’re gonna have to take your thumb out of your mouth.”

Bucky set a pacifier on the table next to Thor for the older boy to off Tony when the time came. Then, knowing that Tony was in capable hands, Bucky left to clean up the living room. Sam didn’t seem to mind, busy making up jobs for Steve to do while Thor explained each of the decorating materials to Tony.

By the time the cookies were done, Clint and Natasha reappeared looking far more rested as they obediently followed Agent Coulson into the kitchen and sat at the table when he instructed.

“Would you two like to help decorate the cookies?” offered Sam, setting a plate of mostly cooled cookies on the table. “Would that be okay with you, Steve?”

“Yes, that’s fine,” said Steve, distracted by the frosting.

“What do you say, Clint? Natasha?” said Coulson.

“Thank you, Steve,” said Clint and Natasha at the same time.

Agent Coulson helped Sam and Bucky place old shirts over the kids to protect them while they decorated the cookies. Thor kneeled next to Tony, placing things within the toddlers reach and helping him with the icing. Steve explained to Clint and Natasha which of the cookies where which and Bruce seemed happy just sitting at the end eating the cookies instead of making them look pretty.

“I got all of their rooms set up,” said Agent Coulson as the adults stood back and watch the chaos ensue. “They each get their own. It’s a lot easier than trying to get them to cooperate and sleep in the same area. They can barely do that as adults.”

“Did you know about Tony?” asked Bucky.

“I didn’t realize it started so young,” said Coulson. “None of them had it easy growing up but I didn’t realize it was so immediate for Stark. He hides it well.”

“He likes Bucky well enough,” said Sam. “We can’t fix the past but we can make right now good for all of them.”

Coulson nodded.

The Avengers alarm sounded, a blaring mixture of alarm clock and rooster sounds that Clint had created and Tony never changed. It was annoying and loud and mildly creepy and did its job, always getting everyone’s attention. This time it did it’s job a little too well.

Every toddler in the room started crying at the sound which only added to the noise.

“JARVIS, cut the alarm,” yelled Bucky.

The AI did as he was told but it still took several minutes before they managed to calm the kids.

“Rhodes is already on his way,” said Agent Coulson, sitting with Clint and Natasha curled up on either side of him. “He has the others with him but Sam, you need to go as well.”

“I’m not leaving,” said Bucky, rocking in place continuously to calm Tony, who was holding on to him and staring around him in alarm, as if the sudden noise would come back again if he relaxed. 

“I wasn’t going to ask you to,” said Coulson. “We have to stay here with them in case it’s a trap.”

“Bucky?” said Steve, looking up at his best friend.

“Yes punk?”

“Can we decorate more cookies?”

“Sure kiddo.”

“Come on, Tony,” said Thor, reaching up and taking Tony from Bucky. “It’s okay, I won’t let the big sound hurt you. I can make bigger sounds than that when I have my hammer. I’ll scare that noise off next time.”

Inwardly Bucky and Coulson had to bite their cheeks to keep from cooing at how adorable Thor was.


	6. Bedtime Blues

Bedtime was an event but less of an event than Bucky had been expecting. Clint and Natasha allowed Agent Coulson to put them down with minimal fuss. The agent read them both a story, tucked them in, and told them he would see them in the morning. Steve fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, forcing Bucky to fondly tug the blanket over his miniature best friend. Thor wasn’t much more difficult, curling up in his bed and going to sleep with no arguments. It was Tony who was causing problems.

The toddler had no interest in sleeping and Bucky could not figure out why. He had read the kid a story, given him a cup of water, changed his diaper, tucked him in, turned on a nightlight, but still the child would not sleep.

“Tony, you have to go to bed,” groaned Bucky, running a hand through his increasingly messy hair. “Please kid, you are wearing me out.”

“Javis?” asked Tony for the tenth time.

“He’s not home right now, you’re stuck with me.”

Tony squirmed out of bed and toddled out of the room, down the hall, and into Thor’s room before Bucky could stop him.

“No,” hissed Bucky. “Do not wake up Thor!”

Tony ignored him and crawled up onto the bed with Thor, shaking the boy’s shoulder.

“Hm?” mumbled Thor, blinking his eyes open. “What’s going on?”

“No, go back to sleep,” sighed Bucky, picking up Tony. “Sorry. Go back to sleep, Thor.”

“Tony, what’s wrong?” asked Thor, sitting up and looking at the toddler.

“Javis gone,” said Tony sadly.

“Oh I see,” said Thor seriously. “Is he often gone at bedtime?”

Tony shook his head, lower lip trembling but no tears falling.

“Do you want to stay with me until you fall asleep?” asked Thor. “I bet Jarvis normally stays until you fall asleep, doesn’t he?

Tony nodded and squirmed, trying to reach Thor. Bucky rolled his eyes but set down the tiny billionaire. Instantly Tony cozied up to Thor. Thor, for his part, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest, merely settling back down and throwing Bucky a glance.

“It’s okay,” said Thor with a smile. “Loki does this too when he’s sad. You can put him back in his own bed after he’s asleep. I don’t mind.”

Bucky nodded and left because he was exhausted and Tony wasn’t crying and Thor didn’t seem bothered.

With a world weary sigh, Bucky threw himself on the couch next to Coulson. Coulson lifted an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t tell me that a group of toddlers is too much for the Winter Soldier to handle?” asked Coulson in an unimpressed tone.

“One of those toddlers is Steve,” snapped Bucky. “That punk was a handful from the moment he was born.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. He used to drive his momma crazy with all his antics. Good heart, he just wanted to help, but the poor bastard was too clumsy and weak to do much of anything but make a mess. I had to pull his ass out of so much trouble back then.”

Bucky chuckled fondly at the memories and Coulson let him have his moment. It wasn’t often that Bucky remembered good times in his past; usually the soldier avoided thinking about his past altogether. For a while the men just sat enjoying the silence, knowing it wouldn’t last.

“Please tell me they are back to normal,” said Pepper, marching into the room, arms full of papers and looking mildly panicked.

“Nope, still tiny and squealing last I checked,” reported Bucky.

“Damn,” cursed Pepper. “Then at least tell me we have an estimate on how long they are going to be like this. Because I really need Tony. SI is having a meltdown, investors are panicking, I needed those new prototypes he promised me yesterday, and Tony is the only one who can fix all of this.”

“Well you’re going to have to figure it out yourself because Tony’s still tiny,” replied Bucky.

“I know,” said Pepper. “But it would be really helpful if he was himself. Seriously, the man is a genius and I’m fairly convinced the world will fall without him. But don’t you dare tell him I said that.”

“I’ll talk to Fury in the morning and see if he has any more leads,” promised Coulson. “Until then I suggest you tell the investors to calm down and have JARVIS give you one of Tony’s back ups. You know he has a million prototypes ready just waiting to be called on when he has nothing extraordinary to offer.”

“He calls them his Shit List,” said Pepper with a smile. “JARVIS, will you send me something from the Shit List please?”

JARVIS didn’t respond.

“JARVIS?” said Pepper, confusion clouding her features.

“Javis here?” asked Tony, peeking his head around the doorframe, thumb in mouth. “Javis back now?”

“Of course," said Pepper, confused. "JARVIS is always here, Tony. What are you talking about?"

"No, he doesn't mean JARVIS," hissed Coulson. "He means Edwin Jarvis."

"But Jarvis died years ago," said Pepper. "Why would Tony be asking for him?"

"Javis died?" yelled Tony before wailing out a sound that was so utterly heartbreaking that everyone in the room wanted nothing more than to fix it, to make sure that such a sound was never heard again.

"Fuck," groaned Bucky, scooping up Tony while the other ting Avengers began to add their chorus of dismay to the noise as they woke up.


	7. Comfort and Honor

Inconsolable was exactly the word that fit Tony. Bucky thought that after three hours and twelve minutes the tyke would have worn himself out with crying and stopped or fallen asleep but he was wrong because nobody did stubborn quite like Tony Stark. 

“Come on, kid,” begged Bucky, close to tears himself, walking aimlessly around the living room in a vain hope that the steady motion would put Tony to sleep. “Please, you have to stop. You’re driving me insane.”

“Wan Javis!” screamed Tony, his face blotchy and red, nose running.

“Okay, tap out,” sighed Bucky, offering the toddler to Coulson. 

“Tony,” said Coulson calmly, taking the wriggling mess from the soldier. “Come on, there’s no need to cry. Calm down.”

“Javis?” wailed Tony.

“Did Jarvis teach you to yell and scream?” asked Coulson reasonably.

“N-no,” hiccupped Tony. 

“Then let’s stop this screaming,” suggested Coulson. 

Tony looked at him in surprise, his screeched quieting but not slowing his tears and tiny whimpers. Coulson smiled encouragingly and bounced the genius on his hip.

“Javis dead,” sniffed Tony.

“I know,” said Coulson sadly. “But guess what.”

“What?” 

“You have a big brother named Thor now,” said Coulson. “And Bucky may be a bit unorthodox but he’s a great caretaker, given the chance. So do you think you can give them a try?”

Tony blinked up at the agent with watery eyes and nodded ever so slowly, as though it was asking him to do the impossible. Coulson visible sighed in relief. 

“Bucky?” called Coulson softly.

Bucky hadn’t moved far away, exhausted from trying to deal with a screaming toddler but unwilling to let Tony out of his sight, not entirely convinced that anyone could comfort him properly. When Coulson called him, he stepped away from the couch.

“Tony, I’m going to give you back to Bucky now, okay?” said Coulson.

Tony nodded even while Coulson handed him back to Bucky. Tony was so small in his current state that he easily sat on Bucky’s metal arm and still had space. And even as a toddler, Tony was more than willing to enjoy Bucky’s metal arm – a fact that the Winter Soldier needed and often craved. He was so used to people avoiding it – even when they didn’t know they were doing it – that he reveled in how Tony admired the arm. Toddler Tony curled up against it, eyes still stubbornly open and sporadically leaking tears for his long dead butler. And wasn’t that just heart breaking; it was probably the first time in his entire life Tony had mourned for the man who may not have raised him but who had loved him unconditionally. 

Bucky settled down on the couch, laying back while JARVIS began playing Robin Hood on the television. Tony seemed content to curl into a ball on Bucky’s chest, his tiny right ear resting over Bucky’s heart. It was as though the genius thought that becoming even smaller would lessen the pain of losing Jarvis. It didn’t, but eventually the steady thrum of Bucky’s heart did lull him into a dreamless sleep where Bucky followed not long after.

-Not Paid Enough-

When the others woke up and wandered into the kitchen they found Bucky asleep on the couch with Tony drooling on his chest. Tony stirred at the sound of the others entering the room and when Thor spotted him, the god walked over and picked the toddler up, carrying him to the kitchen where Coulson was making breakfast. Thor set Tony on a chair and then climbed into the chair next to him.

“Javis dead,” said Tony, looking at Thor with such certainty, as though he thought Thor would be able to fix what no one else could.

“He is?” said Thor, turning his full attention to Tony.

Tony nodded solemnly. 

“What would you like to do in his memory?” asked Thor.

Coulson’s head shot up.

“What?” asked Tony, cocking his head to the side.

“We should honor Jarvis somehow,” said Thor with the certainty that only a young child can convey. “That’s what my momma says we must do when someone we love dies. My momma says we can bring flowers to them or draw pictures or anything we think they would like.”

Tony thought about it for a long time, little brow furrowed in concentration, not even complaining when Clint stole some food off the plate Coulson had placed in front of him.

“Wanna buiwd,” declared Tony at last. “Javis wike dat, yes?”

“I’m sure he would love that,” said Thor with a smile. “You can do that after breakfast, okay? Would you like help or do you want to do it on your own?”

“You hep?” said Tony, eyes widening in disbelief and hope.

“If you’d like, yes,” said Thor. 

“Can I help too?” asked Steve eagerly, leaning over the island and knocking over a cup of juice in his haste.

“Steve!” squealed Clint, jumping up and away from the spilled juice. “That was my juice!”

“I’ll clean it!” said Steve, taking the cloth Coulson offered and wiping it around the spill, smearing the liquid more than cleaning it.

Tony giggled when he noticed Coulson smiling fondly at the mess Steve was making; it reminded him of Jarvis. Coulson caught Tony looking at him and winked, glad the child could find something to smile about after the shock of last night. Then Thor was helping Tony down from the chair and following the tiny genius to the living room, Tony babbling about the amazing thing he was going to make for Jarvis.

“Can we go to the zoo today?” asked Natasha, tugging on Coulson’s sleeve, drawing the agent’s attention back to them. “I wanna go to the zoo. Clint said they have monkeys and snakes and I know that Clint doesn’t like the snakes so I wanna show them to him so he can get scared and I can laugh so can we go to the zoo?”

“We can go to the zoo but we will not be scaring our friends,” said Coulson sternly.

“Yeah,” said Steve. “We aren’t supposed to scare people on purpose, Tasha. That’s bad. We aren’t supposed to scare our brothers.”

“Clint’s not my brother,” said Natasha, wrinkling her nose. “And Tony’s not Thor’s brother either!”

“You’re stupid!”

“Well you’re stupider because you like hanging out with babies!”

“Natasha, if you keep up this attitude you will stay here and not join us at the zoo,” said Coulson as he finished cleaning the mess Steve made.

Natasha pouted and stomped off while Steve gathered up the rest of the breakfast dishes.

“Are we still going to the zoo?” asked Steve, standing on his toes to put the dishes in the sink.

“Yes,” said Coulson with a grin. “We’re still going to the zoo. Go tell the others, I’ll do the dishes.”


	8. The Zoo

The zoo was crowded but no one noticed the tiny Avengers. Coulson pushed a stroller with Bruce sleeping in it, the second spare seat holding the diaper bag and snacks. Clint and Natasha were tugging at their child leashes, looking for all they were worth like overly energetic puppies. Steve jumped along next to the stroller, taking in the sights. Thor held Tony’s hand and walked at the back of the group with the toddler and Bucky, who was bringing up the rear.

“What shall we see first?” asked Coulson.

“The monkeys!” yelled Clint. “I want to see the monkeys!”

“I want to see the snakes!” yelled Natasha.

“We should see the big cats,” said Steve. “They’re the closest.”

“I like the lizards,” said Thor.

“Tony?” prompted Bucky when the toddler didn’t say anything. “What do you want to see?”

“The monkeys and lions sound good,” said Tony softly, sidling closer to Thor when a particularly loud group of people passed them. “So do the snakes and lizards.”

“Yes, but what do you want to see?” asked Bucky.

“The fishies,” said Tony shyly.

“Good choice,” said Thor.

“We’ll make sure to see the fish then,” said Bucky. “But the big cats are the closest, so let’s see them first.”

“Perfect,” said Coulson.

Coulson pushed the stroller to the cat enclosures. Bruce woke up but seemed content to stay in his seat. Coulson parked the stroller in view of the cats and walked Clint and Natasha closer, both of them straining in their harnesses to get closer. Steve asked Bruce if he wanted to go look but the tiny scientist declined. 

“Thor? Aren’t you going to look at the cats?” asked Bucky.

“Tony?” asked Thor, looking at the little boy. “Do you want a closer look at the animals?”

Tony eyed the lion that was pacing close to the thick glass window, then Thor’s eager face before slowly nodding. He followed Thor and pressed as close to the glass as he could. The lion continued pacing, most of the children squealing and pointing. Then the lion stopped and stared right at Tony before letting lose the loudest roar ever.

Tony blinked. Then turned and ran back to Bucky.

“What’s up, little guy?” asked Bucky, picking up Tony.

“Loud,” said Tony with a whimper, shaking slightly.

“Did the lion scare you?” asked Bucky with a smile.

Tony shook his head but refused to go any closer to the lion again. Bucky tried not to laugh but Tony wasn’t crying or screaming and it was either stay a safe distance from the large cats with the stroller and Tony or trade with Coulson and try to wrangle Clint and Natasha. Frankly, just this once, Tony was easier.

“Now we see the fishies?” asked Tony.

“Not yet,” said Bucky.

“Uncle Bucky, can I show Tony the gorillas?” asked Thor. “It’s right over there.”

Bucky looked up and nodded, seeing the gorillas only a few yards away. He set Tony down, watched as Thor grabbed Tony’s hand and headed towards the gorillas.

“Bucky,” called Coulson, sounded frazzled. “Come grab Steve please.”

Bucky looked over and found Steve climbing up the fence to join the tigers. Coulson was trying to keep Natasha and Clint from following Steve, a job he was almost failing at. Bucky ran over and snatched Steve off the fence.

“Steven Grant Rogers,” growled Bucky. “You little punk. That is it. You are confined to the stroller mister.”

“No!” wailed Steve. 

“No arguments,” snapped Bucky. “You know better than to try and climb a wall. So since I can’t trust you to not get into trouble on your own you get to sit here and be pushed around like a baby.”

“Tony?” yelled Thor. “Tony? Where are you?”

“What?!” yelled Bucky, head shooting up, searching for Thor. “Thor?”

“Uncle Bucky,” yelled Thor, sprinting up to Bucky. “Tony’s gone!”

“What do you mean he’s gone?” said Bucky, getting on one knee, hands on the god’s shoulders. “Thor, I thought you were taking Tony to see the gorillas?”

“I did,” sobbed Thor. “And I let go of his hand for just a second and then he was gone and I looked everywhere and he’s not there and I lost him! I lost Tony!” 

In that moment Bucky knew his heart was frozen in a way that he had never been frozen before. It was a way that twisted into his very soul or the place that his soul would be if he still had one – which he very well may not because he had done some pretty awful things in his life and he couldn’t remember most of them. Thor was sobbing, Steve was squirming in his grip, Coulson was trying to flag down a security guard, Clint and Natasha were still staring at the cats and still Bucky couldn’t move. He couldn’t move because Tony was gone. He was tiny and defenseless and gone.

Gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know it's short but this was the best pause point.
> 
> I have another de-aged fic I just started that's different from this one. Only Tony is tiny in that one and he doesn't remember a thing.
> 
> Also, I am on the verge of just trying to pair Tony with every possibly combination. Just for fun. Because I can. Let me know if you want a specific pairing.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


	9. Lost

Gone.

Tony was gone.

“I only let go for a minute,” sobbed Thor to the police man, telling his story yet again after already telling Bucky, Coulson, the security guard, and the zoo manager. “He was right next to me and then he was gone!”

“We’ll find him,” said Coulson calmly.

“That’s right,” said the police man, Officer Kelso. “We locked down the entire zoo, so the chances are high that your brother is still here.”

“He’s so small,” cried Thor. “You have to fine him! He gets scared sometimes and he doesn’t like strangers.”

“Phil, take Thor over to sit with Steve,” said Bucky, pushing the nearly hysterical little boy towards the stroller that contained Bruce, Clint and Natasha still attached to Coulson’s wrist.

Coulson ushered Thor to the other children who were being watched by one of the many security guards loitering around. Bucky turned back to the officer.

“Look, when you find Tony,” said Bucky firmly, not holding any ideas that Tony would not be found. “He’s not very chatty with strangers. Just call me. He’s my responsibility, he knows me, and if you try to touch him he may throw a tantrum.”

“We’ll find him,” said Officer Kelso.

Bucky nodded then headed back to their hoard of miniature Avengers. Coulson had convinced Clint and Natasha to sit in the front seat of the stroller together, cuddled up and sipping juice boxes. Bruce was still in the back seat, awake but not fussing at being in the stroller. Steve and Thor both stood next to Coulson and looked hopefully up at Bucky as he approached.

“Officer Dan is going to take us to the rec center so we can sit and wait in the shade,” said Coulson. “Could you stay here, in case Tony wanders back?”

Bucky nodded before squatting in front of Steve and Thor.

“Steve, Thor, I need you two to go with Uncle Phil,” said Bucky in his best ‘do what I say or else’ voice. “I’m going to keep looking for Tony with the police. Can you promise me you will help Uncle Phil with Clint and Natasha?”

“Yes Bucky,” said Steve, puffing up importantly. “I promise.”

“Thanks, punk,” said Bucky. “Thor?”

“You promise to bring Tony back?” asked Thor.

“Yes.”

Thor turned away and went to Coulson, ignoring Bucky with the grim determination of a young prince trying to save face in the crowd.

Bucky slipped away while the officers watched Coulson move the other direction with the small army of children. Tony was out there and he was not going to wait around for the police to locate him. It was time for his Winter Soldier training to be put to good use.

\- In Which Coulson isn’t Paid Enough (But Bucky is Paid Even Less) – 

Tony cowered away from the man while they hid behind the dumpster. The man didn’t look like a kidnapper who wanted money, which was strange, because Howard had told him what to look for in those men. This guy was a bit dirtier, rougher around the edges, kept calling him ‘kid’ instead of ‘Stark’, so Tony didn’t think the man knew who he was. 

“Lemme go,” said Tony softly.

“Shut up,” snapped the man.

Tony looked at the man again then made up his mind. He had been hiding with the man for a long time and the man had taken him away from Thor and everyone and he was all done.

Screwing up his face, Tony took a deep breath and screamed as loud as he possibly could. The man turned around and yanked Tony to him, smushing Tony’s small body into his thick chest. The smell of old smoke and body odor wafted into Tony’s nose but the toddler couldn’t get away from it no matter how hard he tried.

“Shut up, kid,” hissed the man. “Someone’s gonna hear you!”

“Someone did,” came a low, menacing growl that could have been a predator or could have been a man, the kidnapper wasn’t sure which.

Looking up from his crouched position, the kidnapper found himself staring down the barrel of a gun held by a metal arm, which he followed up to a man with a glare that could curdle milk. The man holding the gun did not look like police, though, so the kidnapper decided to take his chances.

“I’ll kill the kid,” threatened the man. “Snap his little neck before you pull the trigger.”

In response, Bucky dropped the gun. The kidnapper lunged for the fallen weapon, giving Bucky the perfect opening to smash his metal hand into the back of the man’s neck, sending him down with a groan of pain. Kicking the man over, Bucky knelt down and scooped up the trembling child.

“Tony,” sighed Bucky, standing up and rocking Tony back and forth, his right boot finding purchase on the kidnappers hand that was holding the gun. “You okay, kiddo?”

Tony shook his head and burrowed deeper into Bucky, not crying but not calm at all.

“It’s okay,” said Bucky, bouncing slightly where he stood. “I’ve got you, you’re okay. You’re safe.”

“Home now?” whispered Tony so softly that Bucky would have missed it if he hadn’t been listening.

“In a bit,” said Bucky, waving over Officer Kelso. “I found him! You’ll need to bring your handcuffs.”

Officer Kelso took over with his men while a security guard escorted Bucky back to Coulson and the kids. Clint and Natasha had fallen asleep while waiting, Bruce was happily eating a snack in his seat, Steve was reading one of the nature books and Thor was pacing the room like a restless tiger. Coulson smiled when Bucky entered with Tony.

“Tony!” yelled Thor, running forward and jumping around Bucky’s legs. “Tony you’re alright!”

“Not so loud, Thor,” reprimanded Coulson. “Clint and Natasha are sleeping.”

“I told you Bucky would find him,” said Steve, putting up his book and running over. “Bucky is the bestest at taking care of people.”

“Steve, Thor, we’re going to be heading home soon, can you please check and make sure everything is back in the stroller?” asked Coulson.

The two boys hurried to do as they were asked while Coulson inspected Tony, checking the toddler over for injuries. Finding nothing serious, he stepped back and nodded at Bucky.

“What is someone to note?” asked Coulson, trying to find the best way to ask if Tony was the intended target without scaring the child more.

“Average creep,” said Bucky with a shrug. “Thought Tony would be an easy target, being so small and quiet.”

“How did you find him?”

“Turns out Tony wasn’t such an easy target and decided to make some noise.”

“That’s my boy,” said Coulson, ruffling Tony’s hair and earning a small grin from the tired kid in return. “Want to go home now?”

Tony nodded, his thumb slipping into his mouth as he settled more against Bucky’s chest. 

“Uncle Bucky,” said Thor, looking at the ground.

“Yeah kid?” asked Bucky, eying Steve who was bouncing around Coulson excitedly.

“I’m sorry I lost Tony,” said Thor. “I’m not a very good big brother after all.”

Bucky crouched down to be eye level with Thor. The young god looked so dejected by the days events that even though Tony was close again, he couldn’t cheer up.

“Thor, this wasn’t your fault,” said Bucky, placing one large hand on Thor’s shoulder, the other keeping Tony firmly in place. “That man did a bad thing. You did the right thing by telling us right away. You’re the reason why we got Tony back safely, okay? You’re a great big brother.”

“I am?” said Thor, looking up hopefully.

“Yes. Tony is very lucky to have you. Now, do you think we should get Tony home for a nap?”

“Yeah,” said Thor seriously. “That’s probably a good idea. He’s pretty little and little kids need lots of sleep.”

“So do adults looking after kids,” muttered Bucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny Thor is my favorite!
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


	10. Sleepover

Tony was pretty quiet the entire time home and when they arrived back at the Tower and Bucky set him down on the couch, Tony curled into a little ball and said nothing. Thor climbed onto the couch with the toddler, trying to soothe the kid while Bucky made them a snack and Phil got the others settled playing a game of hide and seek.

“Uncle Bucky,” yelled Thor, peeping over the back of the couch and waiting for Bucky to look in from the kitchen.

“Yeah kid?” asked Bucky, peering around the doorframe to make visual contact with Thor, something the young god seemed to need.

“Tony needs to be changed,” said Thor matter-of-factly.

“Okay, I’ll get right on that,” said Bucky with a sigh.

When he had washed his hands of peanut butter, Bucky moved back into the living room and picked up Tony, who made no protest at the movement and merely continued chewing on his thumb anxiously.

“Ew, no, don’t do that, kiddo,” said Bucky, wrinkling his nose and pulling Tony’s thumb out of his mouth. “You don’t know how many germs are on that thing. Here.”

Bucky had reached the bedroom by that point and grabbed a clean pacifier off the shelf, placing it between Tony’s lips. The genius took it and let Bucky change him without whining. The silence worried Bucky but he wasn’t shocked; Tony had been through enough for the day. Bucky took advantage of Tony’s state of partial undress to slip the kid into purple footed pajamas with a hood that had floppy ears, making the young genius look like an improperly colored rabbit.

“You’re going to kill me when you’re big again,” said Bucky with a chuckle, picking Tony up and carrying the kid back to join the others for their snack.

“Tony can sit by me!” said Thor when Bucky reached the kitchen.

Thor had already cleared a spot for the young genius to sit. Tony went willingly enough to sit next to Thor, still sucking on his pacifier. Thor set a small amount of grapes and half of a grilled cheese sandwich on a plate in front of Tony before making his own, grabbing food off of the serving dishes in center of the table.

“Hungry?” asked Thor when Tony made no move to eat the food in front of him.

Tony shook his head.

“You have to eat something,” said Thor reasonably. “Why don’t you eat two grapes first? I bet I can eat all my grapes before you even eat your two.”

The challenge hung in the air for a moment before Thor reached out for his grapes. Quickly, Tony popped out the pacifier, set it on the table, and grabbed a grape. By the time Thor had finished his small mound of grapes, Tony had eaten five of his own grapes and taken a few bites from his sandwich.

“Did anyone else know that Thor was the best big brother ever?” Bucky asked Phil as they washed the dishes and put away the food.

“I had no idea,” said Phil. “I thought that because of Loki, Thor was probably the type of big brother who picked on his little sibling.”

“Maybe when he was older, but right now he is far from that,” said Bucky. “Alright, I’m going to predict that Thor and possibly Steve will not want to be too far from Tony tonight, so why don’t we just set up a sleepover in the living room for them?”

“Fine by me.”

When the kids were finished with their snack, Bucky ushered them into the living room and announced the sleepover.

“Everyone has to take a bath first,” cautioned Bucky. “But after that you can set up camp in here and watch movies and eat popcorn and stuff.”

“Can we build a fort?” asked Clint, jumping up and down on the couch in excitement. “Tasha! We can build the best fort ever!”

“I want to build a tent!” declared Steve. “Bruce, do you want to help?”

“Okay,” said Bruce with a wide grin. “We can build it in the corner with the big chair.”

“Bath and pajamas first,” reminded Phil, starting the long process of sheparding the kids towards the bathrooms. “I’ll take Natasha, Bruce, and Clint.”

“Steve, Thor, Tony, you’re with me,” said Bucky.

“Come on, Tony,” said Steve, grabbing Tony’s hand. “It’s time for a bath so we don’t smell like the animals.”

“Javis say I ducky,” said Tony, following along with Steve, Thor right behind them. “Quack.”

“You’re not a ducky,” said Steve with a laugh. “You’re a baby.”

“No,” pouted Tony. “Javis say ducky. I his ducky.”

“Steve, I think what Tony means is that Jarvis calls him ducky just like your momma calls you little bunny. It’s a nice name that shows someone you care.”

“Well then, ducky, let’s get all cleaned up,” said Steve.

With all the grace and shame of young children – none – Thor and Steve stripped out of their clothes and then helped Tony out of his pajamas. Bucky filled the bathtub with warm water, testing it on his flesh hand to make sure it wasn’t too hot, before lifting the kids in. Thor immediately started splashing around, enjoying the feel of the clean water on his skin. Steve took a handful of the washable wall crayons Bucky had brought with them and started drawing on the wall. Tony sat quietly between the two and watched.

“So Tony,” said Bucky, kneeling next to the tub. “How does your mom or dad normally do bath time?”

“Javis do baf,” said Tony, looking at Bucky like the man had said something crazy. “Wass haiw wif bwue bubbes.”

“Well I have green bubbles, so that’s what we’re using,” said Bucky, pouring a healthy dollop of shampoo on his hands and lathering it up before starting to scrub Tony’s hair.

Tony didn’t seem to mind getting his hair washed, absently patting the water with his hands as he went. Bucky was worried about Tony and his lack of response to the attempted kidnapping. The kid was quieter than usual but other than that, nothing. Perhaps the night would prove differently and bring on a new set of nightmares, they would have to wait and see.

When everyone was washed, dried, and properly dressed for bed, Phil and Bucky helped the kids build forts in the living room. Clint made a nest under the coffee table that he shared with Natasha, a blanket draped over the top. Steve and Bruce shared a tent that Bucky helped them build between armchairs. Thor fashioned himself a throne on one of the other armchairs while Tony cuddled up to Bucky on the couch and Phil sat on the ground with the spies. After the day of excitement – both good and bad – not a single tiny Avenger made it through the first movie. Bucky was just drifting off when he woke to Tony trembling in his sleep.

“Nightmares,” sighed Bucky, already rubbing the small genius’s back, trying to soothe him into a deeper sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not mean to take forever to update!!! It just sorta happened and I'm sorry.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


	11. Hide and Seek

Three days after the zoo the Avengers were still tiny. Bucky was starting to lose hope that they would ever return to their proper ages and had started JARVIS on looking into what he would need to know about raising a hoard of children. Fury had started dropping hints at changing their names and placing them with SHIELD agents to be raised but Bucky would be damned if his friends were raised like soldiers for Fury. No, if the Avengers were stuck as children then Bucky was going to raise them himself, help or no help. 

“Uncle Bucky!” yelled Clint, running into the office where Bucky was trying to sort some paperwork, tears in his eyes. “Thor’s being mean to me.”

“That’s only ‘cause Clint stole Tony’s stuffed dog,” said Steve, also running in, looking appalled on Tony’s behalf.

“Tony wouldn’t share!” cried Clint. “He wouldn’t let me play and Uncle Bucky said we has to share.”

Thor came in carrying Tony, who looked around the room until he saw Clint, then he wiggled to be put down. Thor set him down with a sigh, glaring at Clint.

“Mine,” said Tony, toddling up to Clint and yanking on the stuffed dog in the young archers hand.

“See,” said Clint, gesturing at Tony for Bucky. “It’s my turn.”

“Didn’t Uncle Phil give you your own stuffed monkey?” said Thor.

“Yes, but –“ 

“No,” said Thor. “You have your own monkey and you don’t have to share him. This is the dog Uncle Phil gave Tony, so he doesn’t have to share with you.”

“Thor, Clint, please stop,” sighed Bucky. “Look, Clint, give Tony his dog back. You can’t steal just because you want something. Thor, you can’t be mean to Clint just because he takes Tony’s things. Steve, for the last time, you do not have to attend every argument you’re invited to!”

“Why isn’t Tony getting in trouble too?” pouted Clint.

“Because he’s a baby and doesn’t know any better,” replied Bucky. “Now go find something to do that does not involve stealing, yelling, fighting, or matches.”

“Come on, Tony,” said Thor, holding Tony’s hand and leading the small genius out of the office. “Let’s go play with the bubbles Uncle Phil got us.”

When bubbles for boring, Steve suggested a game of hide and seek. 

“I wanna be it first!” yelled Natasha, jumping up and down and waving her hand.

“No, I want to be it first!” said Clint, who was in the mood to argue with everyone.

“Clint, Natasha get’s to be it first,” said Phil tiredly from his place on the couch. “You got to be it first when you played tag this morning.”

“Oh, right,” said Clint with a sheepish grin. “Okay. You count, Tasha.”

“One, two, three,” began Natasha, eyes closed and covered by her small hands. “Four.”

All of the children scattered, even Tony who had been too shy to partake in such games at first. By the time Natasha reached twenty – which was as high as she could count – everyone was well hidden.

Natasha found Bruce right away. He was hidden behind a potted plant. Together they continued to search for the rest of their friends. Steve was the next to be found because he couldn’t stop giggling. Clint gave up when he jumped down from on top of the bookshelf and landed on top of Phil. Thor had managed to wedge himself under the couch and took much longer to find then Phil had expected. Then they were down to Tony.

The toddler was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t in any of the usual little kid hiding places – behind the curtains, under the table, beneath a blanket. The only reason Phil wasn’t concerned was because JARVIS had closed off the area before the game started and would have alerted Bucky and Phil if Tony was in danger. Still, it should not have been that difficult to locate one child.

“Where are you, Tony?” called Steve, looking under a wooden chair. 

Tony wasn’t there.

They searched for twenty more minutes before Bucky entered to find the entire living room looking like a disaster site.

“What the hell is going on in here?” demanded Bucky.

“We’re playing hide and seek!” said Clint, running up to Bucky with a huge grin. “And Tasha found Bruce first and then Steve and then Thor and I’m not very good at hide and seek so she didn’t find me. But Tony is really good at hide and seek and we can’t find him!”

“Clint!” groaned Phil.

“You lost Tony?” growled Bucky, glaring at the agent.

“Look,” said Phil. “We haven’t lost him, he’s hiding. If we had lost him, JAR –“

“Don’t say it,” snapped Bucky. “Yes, I know, you would have been informed if Tony was really lost. Alright, fine, where have you looked?”

“Everywhere!” said Steve. “He’s disappeared, Bucky!”

“I doubt that,” said Bucky drily.

“He’s probably under the kitchen sink,” said Bruce from his spot on the floor where he was looking at a picture book because he had given up searching for Tony.

“Why on earth would he be there?” asked Phil.

“Because it’s small and dark and a good hiding place,” said Bruce.

Thor went into the kitchen and opened the cupboard under the sink and found Tony curled up under, fast asleep.

“Hey Uncle Bucky?” called Thor, looking back at Bucky.

“Yes Thor?”

“Are Tony’s lips supposed to be all big and puffy?” asked Thor.

Bucky ran over, Phil directly behind him. Thor stepped to the side to reveal Tony, who was still asleep under the sink. But his lips were huge and one of the bottles of kitchen cleaner was open and laying on it’s side.

“Thank you very much for finding Tony, Thor,” said Phil as calmly as he could. “Why don’t we go tell Natasha and the others that Tony really was under the sink?”

“Okay!” said Thor with that charming, bright smile that would one day lure many people to his side and melt hearts.

“I’ll take him,” said Bucky, already scooping up Tony and the open container of cleaning. “Call you when I know anything.”

Phil nodded as Bucky entered the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, Bucky was running to one of the many cars, not caring if it had a child seat in it because Tony needed to get to the hospital. Parenting was way more difficult than he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I lost my inspiration for this story but now I've got it back! Hence, a chapter. But if you are ever wondering if I've given up on a story here, I haven't, I swear. I just need time sometimes.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


	12. It Takes a Village

As he sat on the hospital bed with Tony curled up miserably against his chest, Bucky had to wonder how the hell that had become his life. How had he gone from a kid in Brooklyn to a solider to a deadly assassin to an Avenger to a caretaker of a deaged genius and his motley crew. 

The doctors reassured Bucky that Tony was going to be just fine a week and up and running in a few days. Being the child he was, Tony had gotten thirsty waiting to be found, so he drank from one of their kitchen cleaners. It hadn’t been enough to kill him but it had made him pass out. The poison in the cleaner had burned the tiny genius’s throat and caused it and his lips to swell. It also messed with his stomach, so Tony couldn’t handle any food but he was also severely dehydrated after throwing up all of his stomach’s contents and then some. 

“Can I put you down, Tony, so I can call Uncle Phil again?” asked Bucky.

Tony shook his head.

“Tones, I really need to call Phil,” said Bucky with a sigh.

Tony shook his head again and burrowed closer to Bucky. Tony started chewing on Bucky’s shirt; he wasn’t allowed a pacifier or food but it was soothing for him to chew on something and as disgusting as it was, Bucky let it happen because Tony was having a hard enough time as it was.

“Fine,” said Bucky, shifting slightly and adjusting Tony so the toddler was still curled against his chest but only supported by Bucky’s metal arm. His flesh hand pulled out his phone and he dialed Phil.

“How is he?” demanded Phil after only one ring.

“Resting,” sighed Bucky, leaning his head back against the hospital bed and closing his eyes. “He’s not enjoying the feeding tube down his nose nor the IV but he’s going to be fine.”

“Good,” said Phil, his voice sounding lighter than it had moments ago. “I’ve already ordered child locks for the cupboards. They’ll be installed by the morning.”

“How are the rest of the kids?” asked Bucky.

“Thor is demanding to see Tony so of course Steve has started demanding the same thing,” said Phil with a slight chuckle. Steve had taken a liking to Thor and wanted to do everything the other boy did. “Bruce is enjoying spending time with Pepper right now; I needed help. I think they are reading a book about dragons. Clint is actually taking a nap and Natasha is coloring.”

“Well when Pepper leaves have her bring Thor and Steve here. I’m spending the night with Tony. The doctors want to keep an eye on him and keep checking to be sure there won’t be any lasting damage. We both know Thor isn’t going to settle down until he’s seen Tony and frankly I’d rather have Steve in my sight. He can be a mess and it’ll make your life easier if you only have the assassin twins and tiny rage monster.”

“But do you really want Steve in a hospital?”

“Do you want to try and put Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Steve down for bed on your own?” replied Bucky.

“Fair point,” said Phil. “Man I am not paid enough for this.”

“You’re telling me.”

When they hung up, Bucky looked down to see Tony gazing back up at him with unblinking eyes.

“What?” asked Bucky.

“Fatewo?” said Tony softly.

“Thor’s coming to see you soon,” said Bucky. Tony had taken to calling Thor ‘fratello’ because he had such a difficult time trying to figure out his name. It had taken Bucky several hours to translate the broken word into how it was actually supposed to sound and then another thirty minutes to realize it was Italian for brother. After that realization, though, Bucky started looking up more Italian words and would slip them into what he was saying when talking to Tony just to see what would happen. Most of the time Tony knew what he was saying. When Bucky mentioned it to Phil the agent explained that Tony’s mother was fluent in Italian and probably spoke it to Tony most of the time, so it made sense that Tony was just as comfortable with that language as English.

Tony nodded to himself and went back to sucking on Bucky’s shirt.

“Bambino, that’s gross,” said Bucky, shaking his head. “Let’s hope Pepper thought to bring you a pacifier.”

Pepper had not thought to bring a pacifier but Thor had dragged the entire baby bag with him, so it made up for it. Steve was proud of himself because he had packed a little bag all by himself with clothes for Thor and Bucky too. 

“Hi Tony,” said Thor, climbing up on the bed with the help of Pepper. “Are you feeling better? Uncle Phil said you were sick.”

Tony nodded and reached out for Thor. Bucky handed the baby over, careful of the feeding tube and IV.

“Look, I brought your things,” said Thor, pointing at the bag. “And I brought your puppy because you forgot it.”

“And we got your paci and diapers and baby things!” said Steve. “Isn’t that great?”

“You did good, punk,” said Bucky, lifting Steve up onto the bed as well. “Now why don’t you two sit with Tony while I walk Pepper to the door?”

“Okay!” said Steve with a smile. “Tony, I’m going to sit with you and Thor. Bucky is going to talk to Pepper but he’s just going to be by the door. He’s not leaving, okay?”

Tony nodded and reached out a hand and took the pacifier that Steve offered.

“I need you to call Phil and tell him to expect Tony and us back tomorrow afternoon,” said Bucky. “The kid is going to need some quiet down time though, so Phil needs to make sure to run the assassin twins rugged. And we’ll need easy to swallow foods, so that’s a thing.”

“I’m not your secretary,” said Pepper.

“Yeah, but I have a kid in that hospital bed because he got thirsty and drank cleaner fluid and two others keeping him calm, so I need you to do this so I don’t have to leave Tony’s sight,” growled Bucky.

“You don’t scare me,” said Pepper mildly.

“I’m not trying to scare you, I’m trying to get you to pull your weight in this situation and call Phil. Seriously, even Fury has been helping more than you. Look, none of us thought this was how we would be spending our time but right now we have six kids who desperately need someone to take care of them and I’m sorry if times have changed but when I was growing up, people helped each other.”

Pepper blinked at Bucky before slowly smiling. She hadn’t realized that she missed people standing up to her. In the world she worked in people doubted her for many reasons – mainly because she was a woman – but they rarely said anything right to her face. Tony never hesitated to say exactly what he thought and call her out when she needed it. Without Tony around, no one was there to challenge her.

“Thank you,” said Pepper.

Bucky nodded and returned to his charges. What he found was Tony still on Thor’s lap and Steve was seated in front of them drawing on Tony’s chart. With a sigh, Bucky got back to work.

“Steve, no, we don’t color on important documents.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update! Because those are important.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


	13. Swimming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to update this story and was like, "Oh.....it's been over a year.....I could have sworn it was only like two months." So, my apologies. Turns out I have zero understanding of time.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari

Taking the kids to the pool had been a great idea – in theory. The pool was in the Tower, Pepper had it blocked off for their private use so they wouldn’t be bothered, and Phil, Sam, and Bucky were all free to watch the kids, so it should have been a great way to spend time. They wouldn’t even have to leave the building. 

It turned out that getting a bunch of kids dressed for the pool was way more of a challenge than most of their battles ever had been. Once Thor was out of his regular clothes he refused to put on a bathing suit, instead opting to run around naked, claiming freedom from clothes was the best and his right at a prince, and then running out of the room. Steve was less problematic but once he was dressed he tried to be helpful getting the other kids changed and that was the problem. Steve was not exactly helpful. He made a mess and was a bit bossy and Bucky wanted to put him in time out but at the same time he knew that Steve wasn’t trying to do anything on purpose.

Bruce was the easiest and Sam – the lucky one – had changed him with little to no mess. Phil had managed to get Natasha changed and was busy wrestling Clint into a life vest that had little seagulls printed on it while Bucky was busy getting Tony into a pair of swim trunks over his swim diaper. Tony wasn’t fighting him but he also wasn’t making it any easier. Steve leaning over the baby, getting his tiny hands everywhere, also wasn’t helping.

“Steve, go find Thor and tell him that Tony can’t go swimming until he is wearing a swim suit,” said Bucky, biting back his frustration – but only barely. 

“Okay!” said Steve, rushing off with a grin. “Thor! Bucky says Tony can’t go swimming if you’re naked!”

Bucky rolled his eyes and grinned down at Tony, who had his fingers stuffed in his mouth and was content to drool around them.

“Next time, I’m calling dibs on you and Bruce,” confided Bucky. “Same can manage Steve and Thor. You ready to go swimming?”

“Yea!” cheered Tony, kicking his chubby legs. “Simming!”

“Alright, then let’s fetch the rest of the little terrors.”

Bucky swung Tony onto his hip and marched out of the room. The toddler reached up and started chewing on a dark clump of hair that had fallen loose from Bucky’s ponytail. Bucky didn’t notice – Tony was mostly quiet and didn’t tug on the hair. When they joined Phil and Sam in the common room, Thor had finally put on swim trunks and was waiting eagerly for Bucky with Steve. Phil had a death grip on Clint and Natasha’s floaty covered arms while Sam was sitting peacefully on the couch with Bruce, reading him a story.

“We’re ready to go swimming!” yelled Clint, who looked about ready to burst from excitement.

“Looks like it,” said Bucky.

“Ew, Tony, hair is not for chewing,” said Steve, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

“Can I hold to little one?” asked Thor, holding up his arms.

“Not right now,” said Bucky with a smile. “Let’s get everyone to the pool first. Can you help Sam and Bruce?”

“Of course,” said Thor, looking almost offended at Bucky doubting that he could be helpful.

At the pool, Clint and Natasha jumped right in, before Phil could even strip off his shirt and get in the water himself. Luckily both were wearing water wings, so they all avoided potentially scarring near-drowning events. Steve was close behind but he waited for Bruce before approaching the stairs to the pool. Steve and Bruce had become fast friends, shocking just about everyone. Steve grabbed Bruce’s hand as they stepped into the pool, Sam directly behind them, watching like a hawk – or falcon.

Bucky slipped into the pool, holding Tony firmly out of the water. Thor jumped in behind him, splashing Bucky’s back. Thor knew how to swim and had made that abundantly clear during bath time. 

“Do you want to get in the water?” asked Bucky, looking down at Tony.

It was a toss up on how Tony viewed water. Sometimes he was fine with it while other days eh struggled with even drinking it. Today, Tony seemed fine, if a bit weary. Bucky leaned Tony’s body down, dipping the tiny feet into the water. Tony squealed and kicked his feet at the feel.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” said Bucky with a grin.

“Yeah, let’s go swimming,” said Thor, splashing around and taking off like an eel.

For the rest of the afternoon the kids splashed around in the pool. Tony refused to let Bucky put him I the floating seat or even set him down, but there were no fits or panic attacks, so Bucky was going to call it a win. 

Dinner was quiet, the kids falling asleep as they ate their pizza and apple slices – or blueberries in the case of Tony, who did not eat apples. Sam had tried to give him apple slices once and Tony still didn’t trust the man with food – which Bucky found hilarious. 

“Can we have a sleep over tonight?” asked Clint with a yawn.

“Not tonight, buddy,” said Phil. “You’re pretty tired.”

“No I’m not!” said Clint, tears jumping into his eyes.

“You can have a sleepover but it has to be in the bedroom,” said Bucky. “I want don’t want Tony sleeping on the couch.”

The kids all cheered and Phil glared at Bucky. 

“They’re going to pass out in like two seconds,” said Bucky with a shrug while Sam began ushering the kids to the bathroom for teeth brushing and pajamas. “I’m not in the mood to fight them on this.”

By the time Sam had them all in their pajamas, Bucky had the beds ready to go. Thor crawled into the bed with the protective bumpers with Tony and Steve. Clint, Natasha, and Bruce all got into the other bed. Bucky switched on the ocean projection, turned off the lights, and by the time he was shutting the door, he was fairly certain Clint and Bruce were already asleep.

While it had been an exhausting day, Bucky wished the rest of them would be as easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still so pumped about my 5 followers on tumblr! I know nothing about tumblr still (though I do enjoy posting tiny shorts on there), so I'm assuming 5 followers is good. It's better than zero.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


End file.
